If You Open the Sale, Be Sure to Close It!

By Bryan Flanagan

One of the simplest and most effective closes is the 3-Question Close.  You can use this once you’ve convinced your customer your solution will save money, time, etc. 

For example:
1. Can you see where this would save you money?
2. You did mention that saving money is important, didn’t you?
3. If you were ever going to start saving money, when would be the best time to start?

The last question puts the decision in the customer’s court. If you’ve done your job and the customer is honest with you, you’ve just made a sale!

The value of this close is that you can insert any benefit that fits your sales situation. You can also modify and revise the questions, the order of the questions, and the number of questions.

For example:
1. Mr. Watts, you mentioned that saving time was important to you.  Now that you’ve seen the demonstration, you do agree this model is easy and convenient to use, don’t you?
2. When would be the best time to take advantage of these time saving values?

This is a very effective close.  But remember: it only works if you do!

Now, go sell somebody something.

Bryan Flanagan is known as the Sales Ambassador.  He is the premiere sales trainer and coach for Ziglar.  Watch Bryan in action!

Ask the Sales Ambassador

Mike from NY asks: What’s the best way to motivate a sales team when the economy is so challenging for so many of us?

Answer:
Mike, that’s a question that is being asked by a lot of people. It is not an easy one to answer.

There are three aspects to overcoming this: the prospect, the individual salesperson, and the company……

Your prospects know that the economy is uncertain. What every prospect is looking for is “certainty in the people that serve them”!!! By that I mean your prospects are searching for “certainty”… Your job is to provide it for them. If your salespeople are certain about their abilities to identify problems, solve problems, and offer assurance that the problems will be solved, then your customers will want to hear from you.

If your salespeople are certain that your solutions can benefit your prospects, then those salespeople will have more confidence to move forward and make more calls.

The question then is: how prepared are your salespeople to communicate that certainty? Has the company prepared them to communicate your value, your unique selling advantages? Has the company offered assurance to the sales team that the company will support them in these economic times? Do the salespeople have the assurance that if they work hard and smart, there is a payoff, a reward for them? Is the company creating an environment of success? Or is the company circling the wagons and waiting for the doom and gloom to disappear?

Bryan Flanagan, Sales Ambassador.  Do you have a question for the Sales Ambassador?  Submit your question to editor@ziglar.com.   Who knows, you may see it in the newsletter sometime!

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Audio Download

Zig shares tips and techniques from his vast wealth of sales experience. His insights will prove to you over and over why this is the definitive “how to” sales program.
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The Lighter Side of Selling

A salesman walks into a doctor’s office with a stick of celery in one ear, a carrot in the other and a grape up his nose. Confused, the salesman asks: “Doctor what’s wrong with me?” The doctor looks at the salesman and replies: “You’re not eating properly!”

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admin closing the sale attitude, closing the sale, professional growth, sales, sales professional, strengthen skills, Zig Ziglar

Questions and Answers

By Bryan Flanagan

At a recent Success 2.0 webcast I received some great questions.  Here is a sampling of them:

Question 1: Are there advantages or disadvantages to revealing the cost of your product at the beginning of your presentation?

There are probably more disadvantages than there are advantages.

One solid selling principle is this: Never quote price until you’ve established value. The reason, if you haven’t shown the value of your solution, then any price you quote will be too high because the client hasn’t seen the advantages of your system, so if you give a price, what will it be compared to?

I am sure there are some industries where the client knows the price (car dealers, homes, etc.), but most of the time it is better to build value before quoting price.

Question 2: Should I follow up on the prospecting activities of my team to ensure quality activity?

You have to inspect what you expect. Yet, at the same time, you must inform your team that you are inspecting them.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself:
 1. What is the incentive for my sales team to conduct quality prospecting?
 2. What are the consequences if they fail to conduct quality prospecting?
 3. What are the benefits for my team to comply with these standards?

If you can answer those questions, it may help you follow up on them.

Question 3: How do we position ourselves as professional peers to new prospects so that preconceived ideas about the brand we represent do not shut out opportunities?

One way to deal with past experiences/preconceived ideas is to ask the prospect what are his/her thoughts about the product. Then, if they have a concern, ask, “What would it take for you to feel comfortable that we’ve satisfactorily resolved those issues?” The answer may give you some direction on where to take the call.

Question 4: What is the one qualifying question that has seemed to stimulate the most information from a prospect? 

One question that I like is this:
“If you were to solve this issue, what would be the benefit to you?”
The answer helps give you direction on where to take the sales interview.

If you have questions, please email them to editor@ziglar.com.

Bryan Flanagan is known as the Sales Ambassador.  He is the premiere sales coach and sales expert at Ziglar.  Follow Bryan on Twitter @bryanflanagan, read his blog and check him out on Facebook.

 
Adding Zeroes

By Zig Ziglar

Ben Feldman is arguably the greatest life insurance salesperson of all time. In his career, he sold more insurance than some companies do; however, he struggled to get started and had difficulty selling a $5,000 policy. Over the years, he started thinking that if instead of a $5,000 policy he could just add one zero to it, it would really take him no more time, he could render far more service, and everyone would win. He pursued that idea, raised his sights and sure enough, in a reasonably short period of time he was selling $50,000 insurance policies.

As he pondered this situation, one day he asked himself if he dared add one more zero and sell $500,000 policies. Sure enough, the early success had increased his confidence and he moved his sales up another zero and half-million-dollar policies came with regularity.

You’ve probably guessed the next step and you’re right. He added another zero and soon he was selling five-million-dollar policies. Incredibly enough, one day he enlarged it even further. He added another zero and started selling $50 million life insurance policies.

Yes, I’ll admit it’s an incredible story, especially for this man who was so shy that when the life underwriters invited him to speak at their national meeting, he asked for a large screen which he stood behind to make his talk. Ben Feldman, the greatest life insurance salesman of all time, was intimidated by that crowd. Incidentally, the bulk of his business was done in the small town of New Liverpool, Ohio.

Message: When you achieve a small goal it increases your confidence and you will raise your sights. Who knows? Maybe more zeroes (small steps) is what we all need to add to our lives.

Yes, it took a lot of courage and imagination for Ben Feldman to keep moving his objectives higher and higher, until they reached astronomical heights. You might have it in your own mind that it’s so incredible you could never do anything like that. I’d be the first to agree with that, but “eternal arithmetic” says that you… plus God…can do some mighty things. In 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT) we read, “No eye has seen nor ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” In the Old Testament He puts it this way in Isaiah 64:4 (NLT): “For since the world began no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like You Who works for those who wait for Him.”

Zig Ziglar is America’s Motivator.  He is the author of several sales books as well as personal development books. 

Ziglar Recommends

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How do you succeed in the profession of selling…while also maintaining your sanity, continuing good relationships with your family, meeting your financial obligations, and preparing for those “golden years”…and still have a moment you can call your own? Zig Ziglar shows you how. Sharing information, direction, inspiration, laughter and tears from his selling experiences, Ziglar will help you make the necessary choices for a balanced personal and professional life.

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Lighter Side of Selling

Computers are like air conditioners. They work fine until you start opening windows.

This newsletter is published by Ziglar, Inc.  Ziglar.com

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Your First Burst:  How To Start A Presentation

By Bryan Flanagan

How many times have you heard a presenter begin a presentation with something like this: “Thanks for being here.  The restrooms are outside on the right.  Man, it is a hot one today, isn’t it?”  This is less than overwhelming…in fact, it isn’t whelming at all.

When making a presentation, oftentimes the greatest challenge is deciding how to begin!  In our Essential Presentation Skills Workshop, we teach the concept of “First Burst.”  Your “First Burst” should launch your presentation.  The purpose of “First Burst” is to grab the attention and hold the interest of your audience.  It sets the tone and the mood of your presentation and positions you to begin.  It also helps support your theme or message.

There are several ways to accomplish this.  These include Quotable Quotes, Startling Statements, Contrast/Comparisons, Quizzical Questions, Staggering Statistics, Hilarious Humor, and Pointed Poetry.  Let’s look at examples of each of these.

Quotable Quotes:
Zig Ziglar often says, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”  My purpose is to explore how we can help our associates reach their goals. 

Startling Statements:
23% of all statistics are wrong!   This is another reason our department must stop focusing on numbers and begin to focus on people!

Contrast/Comparisons:
Fear and faith have the same definition.  That definition is: believing what you don’t see will happen. Today, I want to encourage you to choose faith!

Quizzical Questions:
What great adventure would you undertake if you knew you wouldn’t fail?  I want to explore how our fears hold us back from reaching our goals.

 Staggering Statistics:
There are five reasons your customers don’t buy from you: no want, no need, no money, no hurry and no trust.  Our purpose today is to learn how to overcome these sales objections.

Hilarious Humor:
We have a lot of interesting people with us today.  Get to know Dr. Ralph Watts.  Dr. Watts is a veterinarian and a taxidermist!  That’s right.  He’s got a sign in his office that says “Either way, you get your dog back!”  As we go through this project we will get to learn about all the other interesting people on our committee.

Pointed Poetry:
Nipsy Russell shares great wisdom when he says:
“Don’t be a fool, go to school and stay until you are through…
‘Cause if they can make penicillin from molded bread, think what they can do with you!”  Let’s discuss what our potential and possibilities are. 

I hope that these examples are of some benefit to you.  Remember, the purpose of the First Burst is to launch your talk.  You will have to modify this concept to best fit your situation.  Your First Burst should be practiced, rehearsed, and maybe even memorized.  However, when used correctly, presenters are often given credit for an intelligence they don’t necessarily possess!

Bryan Flanagan is Ziglar’s premiere sales coach and motivational speaker.  See Bryan in action!  Read his blog and follow him on Twitter @bryanflanagan

Get More Referrals and More Clients by Using High Value Offers

By Ian Brodie

One of the biggest challenges I find clients have when trying to get more referrals is that their referrers (the people they’ve asked to introduce them to someone) struggle to make the introduction sound attractive to the potential client.

For example, let’s say you’re a lawyer and you want to get referrals from an accountant to small manufacturing businesses in your area. Or perhaps you’ve used Linkedin to name some specific people and organizations you know he knows.

How is he going to make that introduction sound attractive to the potential client? Chances are, they don’t have a specific need for your services at this point in time. And even if they did, the accountant might not know that. So, although a recommendation and offer of an introduction from a trusted partner like an accountant is more likely to succeed than a cold call - it still might not seem attractive.

And it may well feel embarrassing or uncomfortable to the accountant, too. It may just seem a little too much like he’s simply selling on your behalf, rather than thinking in his client’s best interests.

Now, of course, you’re going to try to fill your referral partner with confidence by proving what a great resource to his clients you could be. And of course, you’re going to be nurturing your relationship with him to keep yourself top of mind for when the time comes to give referrals.
But at the end of the day, face to face with his client, he’s going to have to actually make the referral. If he feels uncomfortable he’ll wait until the client’s in a good mood. Or maybe until a related topic comes up. Or maybe….

But what if the accountant actually had something of value from you to offer the client? Something that was useful to them before they had an urgent need. It could be a report you’d prepared on the key facts manufacturers need to know about employment law, for example. Or perhaps an invitation to a monthly seminar your firm runs on new legislation which impacts their type of business. Or perhaps it could be some kind of related checklist or spreadsheet tool.

Now there’s a different dynamic. Instead of just suggesting a meeting with you, they’re giving the potential client something of value straightaway. So the client will be much more likely to meet with you than before.
The whole situation has changed now. You’re now doing them a favor, rather than vice versa.

So not only will the accountant be recommending you when the time is “perfect” - he’ll be recommending you whenever he can. Because your offer will help him improve his relationship with his client.

So what offers do you have that your referral partners can use?

If you don’t have any, start working on them now.

Ian Brodie works with the leaders and staff of professional service firms to help them achieve their business growth goals.  His clients are lawyers, consultants, accountants, architects, surveyors, coaches, and other professionals. He helps them improve their marketing and sales capabilities to win new clients.  To get a free copy of Ian’s eBook, How to Get More Referrals, sign-up for the Outside In Newsletter featuring detailed articles on strategy, marketing and business development for professional service firms.

Lighter Side of Selling

An inexperienced real estate salesman asked his boss if he could refund the deposit to an angry customer who had discovered that the lot he had bought was under water.

“What kind of salesman are you?” the boss scolded. “Get out there and sell him a boat.”

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Strategies for Improving your Self-Discipline
February 25, 2010
Evening webcast
Presented by Rory Vaden

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Sell Like an A.C.E. and You’ll be Treated Like a King

By Bryan Flanagan, Sales Ambassador

If you play your cards right, you can have a great day each day of your life! 

Let’s take the ace from a deck of playing cards and form an acronym.
 A = Attitude
 C = Confidence
 E = Enthusiasm

Attitude
What separates the successful, high performing individual from the almost-just-on-the-verge-of-success individual?  It’s not how they react to the positives in life…it’s how they react to the negatives in life!  It’s the lemon-lemonade concept.  Just after taking the oath as the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan was shot.  While in the operating room, he turned to the doctors and said, “I hope you are all Republicans!”  To his wife Nancy he said, “Honey, I forgot to duck!”  Whether you liked President Reagan or not, I think you’ll agree that’s the type of attitude you can admire. 

Confidence
You must have confidence in yourself, your abilities, your company, and your teammates.  If you don’t have confidence in these areas, how can your customers have confidence in you or your company?  They can’t.  Basketball great Larry Bird had confidence.  In the 1986 NBA All-Star Game, he was competing in the three-point shooting contest.  Prior to going on the court to warm up, he turned to the other seven contestants and asked, “Hey, which of you guys is playing for second place today?”  That’s confidence!

Enthusiasm
Nothing great has been accomplished without enthusiasm!  That doesn’t mean you have to jump up and down, snort, shout and flail your arms.  That’s not enthusiasm…that’s hysteria!  Enthusiasm is that extra pep in your step, that pride in your stride.  It also means getting excited internally about your family, your friends, your career, your company, your teammates.  And enthusiasm puts you into action.  It’s like the young couple who was parked at the lake and the young woman said, “It would be great if you put the top of the car down.”  Within three minutes the young man had the car top down.  Not bad, considering the car was not a convertible!  That’s enthusiasm.

Today, maintain a positive ATTITUDE, build your CONFIDENCE, and show your ENTHUSIASM in all that you do.

Bryan Flanagan is the Sales Ambassador for Ziglar.  He is the lead sales trainer and coach and author of “Now Go Sell Somebody Something.”  Read Bryan’s blog.  Follow Bryan on Twitter @bryanflanagan.

 
Proposal Writing - How to Make Your Proposals Attractive to Your Clients  

By Al Borowski

Successful proposal writing requires you to make your proposals attractive as well as informative. Your proposal needs to offer your clients a sample of what their world will look like and feel like when they select you for their project.

You can make your proposals more attractive in at least three ways.

AVOID THE “WAR AND PEACE” PROPOSAL

Don’t force your clients to dread reviewing your proposals because they conjure up images of reading “War and Peace.”

Use the proper mix of graphics, fonts, photos, headers, bullets, and paragraphs that immediately proves to the clients that your proposal will be pleasing to the eye and not a burden on their brain.

FLATTERY WILL GET YOU MORE BUSINESS THAN BRAGGING

Attractive also means the readers will be drawn into your proposal because it addresses their stated wants, needs, desires, goals, budgets and timetables. Flatter your clients by making them the Number One consideration in the proposal, not the great things your products or services have done for others.

Your clients will be attracted to the proposal because it fits their situation, not your capabilities and past successes.

AIM FOR THE HEART AND THE HEAD

Your proposals become more attractive when they appeal to your clients emotionally and logically.

It appeals to their emotions because they appreciate something created to solve their problem, fix their pain, or vault them into a productive, prominent, and profitable position.

It appeals to their logic because they recognize the value your solution delivers to them. Your solution may not be the lowest price, but the value your solution brings far exceeds any cost considerations.

Attract more business; attract more profits; make your proposals attractive to your clients.

Thus, editing and evaluating your proposals should become a critical step in your proposal creation process. For your FREE instant access to an offer to evaluate up to 20 pages of your next non-government proposal, please click here.

Al Borowski, MEd, CSP, PP - speaking and training on, evaluating, and editing proposals that sell.

Lighter Side of Selling

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Some Questions and Some Answers

By Bryan Flanagan

I recently did a live webcast presenting information on how to sell more effectively.  I received many questions and thought I would share some of them, along with my answers, with you.

Q:  Are there advantages or disadvantages to revealing the cost of your product at the beginning of your presentation?

A:  There are probably more disadvantages than there are advantages.

One solid selling principle is this: Never quote price until you’ve established value. The reason, if you haven’t shown the value of your solution, then any price you quote will be too high because the client hasn’t seen the advantages of your system, so if you give a price, what will it be compared to?

I am sure there are some industries where the client knows the price (car dealers, homes, etc.), but most of the time it is better to build value before quoting price.

Q:   Should I follow up on the prospecting activities on my team to ensure quality activity?

A:  You have to inspect what you expect. Yet, at the same time, you must inform your team that you are inspecting them.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself:
 1. What is the incentive for my sales team to conduct quality prospecting?
 2. What are the consequences if they fail to conduct quality prospecting?
 3. What are the benefits for my team to comply with these standards?

If you can answer those questions, it may help you follow up on them.

Q:   How do we position ourselves as professional peers to new prospects so that preconceived ideas about the brand we represent do not shut out opportunities?

A:  One way to deal with past/preconceived ideas is to ask the prospect what are his/her thoughts about the product. Then if they have a concern, ask, “What would it take for you to feel comfortable that we’ve satisfactorily solved those issues?” The answer may give you some direction on where to take the call.

Q:   What is the one qualifying question that has seemed to stimulate the most information from a prospect? 

A:  One question that I like is this:
“If you were to solve this issue, what would be the benefit to you?”
The answer helps give you direction on where to take the sales interview.

If you have questions, please email them to editor@ziglar.com.

Bryan Flanagan is the Sales Ambassador for Ziglar.  He is the premiere sales coach and author.  Bryan has a wealth of selling experience and knowledge.  Follow Bryan on Twitter @bryanflanagan. 

5 Reasons Cold Calling is a Blast!

By Dr. Gary Goodman

Sigourney Weaver is one of the stars of the hit movie, “Avatar.”

She plays an earnest scientist, dispatched to study the ecosystem of a beautiful, faraway earth-type of planet.

In a recent interview she looked back on her spate of successful extraterrestrial films, which include “Alien,” “Alien-2.” “Galaxy Quest,” a personal favorite that I just bought on DVD, and of course, James Cameron’s latest epic.

“Space has been very good to me!” she quipped.

Looking back on my career, I’d have to say telemarketing has been very good to me. My number one tool for opening and closing business, setting up distribution and publishing relationships, the phone enabled me to open a very successful training, speaking, and consulting firm on a shoestring.

While others that suffer from call reluctance wail that cold calling doesn’t work, I think it’s a blast — for five reasons:

(1) Forrest Gump would have said it’s like a box of chocolates because you never know what you’re going to get until you open a conversation. The upside potential is unlimited. A financial industry client earned a million dollar commission from a cold call.

(2) Like speed dating, but more meaningful, speed dialing can introduce you to more people in less time, while having truly interactive, potentially rewarding real-time conversations, than any other medium. Texting doesn’t come close.

(3) You can CHOOSE with whom to do business. Through careful targeting you can optimize everyone’s time and seek only those clients and customers for whom you are a great fit.

(4) The worst thing that can happen is you’ll invest a few minutes without an immediate payback. That’s a lot easier on the wallet and ego than schlepping across the country or even the city to knock on doors.

(5) The phone is one of the greenest sales and marketing media around. Not even a carbon toe-print is required.

So, isn’t it time you reached out to sell someone?

When combined with well-designed voice and emails, as well as guided web browsing, it is a more powerful and rewarding tool than ever.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top speaker, sales, service, and negotiation consultant, attorney, TV and radio commentator and the best-selling author of 12 books, including REACH OUT & SELL SOMEONE and YOU CAN SELL ANYTHING BY TELEPHONE! He conducts seminars and speaks at convention programs around the world. His new audio program is Nightingale-Conant’s “Crystal Clear Communication: How to Explain Anything Clearly in Speech & Writing.” His web site is: http://www.customersatisfaction.com and he can be contacted at gary@customersatisfaction.com.

The Lighter Side of Selling

For a couple years I ‘ve been blaming it on lack of sleep and too much pressure from my job, but now I found out the real reason: I’m tired because I’m overworked. The population of this country is 237 million. 104 million are retired. That leaves 133 million to do the work. There are 85 million in school, which leaves 48 million to do the work. Of this there are 29 million employed by the federal government, leaving 19 million to do the work. 2.8 million are in the Armed Forces, which leaves 16.2 million to do the work. Take from the total the 14,800,000 people who work for State and City Governments and that leaves 1.4 million to do the work. At any given time there are 188,000 people in hospitals, leaving 1,212,000 to do the work. Now, there are 1,211,998 people in prisons. That leaves just two people to do the work. You and me. And you’re sitting at your computer reading jokes.

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Presented by Dr. Tony Alessandra

January 20, 2010
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admin Newsletter attitude, closing the sale, cold calling, professional growth, sales, sales professional, strengthen skills, Zig Ziglar